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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Larry D. Sweazy's The Cougar's Prey (Josiah Wolfe #4) won the 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction, making the Josiah Wolfe
series a two-time, back-to-back winner since Sweazy's novel The Scorpion Trail (Josiah Wolfe #2), won the 2011 Will Rogers Medallion for Western Fiction.

The Will Rogers Medallion Award is presented each year to those books that represent an Outstanding Achievement in the publishing of Western Literature. They are books that exemplify outstanding excellence in content and design with an enduring quality that preserves and celebrates the history and spirit of the West and the memory of Will Rogers.

Monday, June 25, 2012

We stalwart guardians of literary excellence here at Western Fictioneers have been cooking up a secret for readers, for months now. We’ve dropped a hint here and there, but given few real details. Now we are unveiling our project, and there is no more need for our members to keep mum.

WF is producing a new series of western novels, under the umbrella title Wolf Creek. The series gets its name from its setting, the fictional 1870s town of Wolf Creek, Kansas. The first installment, Bloody Trail, will be released on September 1, with a new volume to follow every three or four months.

Well and good, you say. But there are plenty of western series out there, some of them darn good. What sets this one apart?

We can honestly say, Wolf Creek is not like any western series you have ever read. Every WF author involved in the project has created one or two “main characters” from whose perspective they will write, making this a large ensemble effort. This type of venture has been tried before in other genres –especially in “shared universe” science fiction series, the most successful of which was the 1980s Thieves’ World books. But it has not, to our knowledge, been tried with a western –and certainly not on this scale, or in this particular manner.

Our series is not going to be comprised of anthologies, like those sci-fi series were; our books will be collaborative novels. Each one will feature five or six authors, who will write chapters framed around their specific characters (some of whom are very much good guys –and some of whom are very much not.)

The idea for this series came about last fall, when we were tossing around ideas about what our next WF anthology could be. Someone suggested a collaborative novel, and from there we thought: why not make it a whole series of collaborative novels? Since then, however, I have realized that the earliest seeds were planted at our very first WF organizing meeting, in Knoxville in 2010. Several of us were discussing the popular western video game Red Dead: Redemption, and how we might go about pitching an idea to publishers about an anthology of short stories set in that universe. That idea never got off the ground, but we have come up with something better. We have created our own fictional world, that we can all play in –at the same time! And believe me, we have some exciting, action-filled stories coming up for you.

While we are all awaiting the actual release of volume one, we have prepared a special Wolf Creek website where you can get some details about our town and the people in it, and find news about upcoming volumes. You can find it here: http://wolfcreekkansas.yolasite.com/

Western Fictioneers (WF) is pleased to announce the WINNERs for the second annual Peacemaker Awards for books published in 2011.

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT PEACEMAKER:

Jory Sherman

BEST WESTERN SHORT STORY

WINNER:

FINALISTS:

“Planting Season” by Johnny D Boggs (Cactus Country Anthology, Volume I – High Hill Press)“The Way of the West” by Larry J. Martin (The Traditional West anthology, WF)“Blackwell’s Run” (Western Trail Blazer) by Troy D. Smith“Panhandle Freight” by LJ Washburn (The Traditional West anthology, WF) “The Death of Delgado” by Rod Miller (The Traditional West anthology, WF)“Stay of Execution” by Lucia St. Clair Robson (Cactus Country Anthology, Volume I – High Hill Press)

Western Fictioneers (WF) was formed in 2010 by Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, Frank Roderus, and other professional Western writers, to preserve, honor, and promote traditional Western writing in the 21st century. Entries were accepted in both print and electronic forms. The Peacemaker Awards will be given out annually. Submissions for the 2012 awards will be open in July, 2012. Submission guidelines will be posted on the WF web site. For more information about Western Fictioneers (WF) please visit: